Saying Goodbye
by Warrior Hal
Summary: Orihime says goodbye to someone close to her...but is it the last time? Slight Ulquihime maybe if you squint, and some Ichiruki to the side. One-shot.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach.

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The wind blew gently, picking up red, orange, and yellow leaves in its invisible fingers, taking the dead leaves into the gray, cloudy sky. A single girl with long orange hair similar in color to some of the autumn leaves walked across the cement which was carpeted in a tricolor rainbow of bright, pretty colors.

Yet the sky contrasted sharply with this, being so gray and gloomy, looking so heavy that it seemed as if it might fall down upon the earth at any moment.

Orihime Inoue shrugged her shoulders and sighed softly as she closed her eyes, darkness falling instantly as soon as her eyelids fell over her eyes, like the shutters that closed over a window in a house, blocking out the light. But in a moment, she opened her eyes again, letting the lonely, cold light filter back in. Orihime stopped before a small, quaint grave.

The grave was neither black nor white, but a gray the color of her eyes and the color of the clouds and the color of the cement beneath the cheerfully bright dead leaves. Her lip curled down slightly, putting itself out into a sort of pout as she resisted the urge to cry, letting old tears spill down her cheeks as if they were new again.

The wind breathed softly upon her, lifting a few strands of orange hair in its intangible grip.

Orihime looked at the inscription on the small tombstone for a while, wondering what it would be like if it had been someone else's name inscribed into the frigid stone. Withdrawing one hand from the warmth of her blue wool knit sweater that Ishida had made her, Orihime reached out to brush the stone with trembling, warm fingers, a sharp contrast to the solid, unmoving cold stone.

But before her fingers could make contact with surface of the marker, someone called her name, the person's voice cutting through the cold air.

"Inoue!"

Orihime straightened up out of her slightly bent over position that she had assumed when leaning over to touch the grave. She felt her heart give a little frog's leap when she spotted the familiar orange spiky hair, the warm brown eyes which sometimes reminded her of melted chocolate, and the same grouchy yet kind expression.

"Kurosaki-kun…" the name rolled on her tongue, dancing on her lips as it left her mouth, becoming a sound in the autumn air.

Ichigo walked up to her, his eyes straying past her for a moment; and it was in that moment that Orihime could read an unbearable sadness, even heavier than the dark gray clouds above their heads.

"Inoue…I…"Ichigo started awkwardly, scratching the back of his head nervously. Ever since they had returned from Las Noches, Ichigo had not always been himself. Though Orihime could definitely see that Ichigo being with Rukia made him feel better, even more so now that they were officially dating, they both shared a similar pain that no one else but the two of them could understand.

Orihime turned back to the marker, and read the inscription.

**Here lies Ulquiorra Schiffer, the former Cuatro Espada of Sosuke Aizen's army. Ulquiorra was an arrancar without a heart, but gradually gained one up until his death. He will be loved and missed by those who knew him. R.I.P.**

Orihime said nothing as a single tear made its way down her face, dropping to the ground and forming a small round circle of water. It was followed by another, and another, and another until it was gradually pouring, and both Orihime and Ichigo were soaking wet. Orihime lifted her eyes from the marker and its simple inscription which told nothing of who Ulquiorra truly was. No flowers, no plush animals, no ornaments of any kind decorated his tombstone.

Orihime felt a large, warm hand place itself on her shuddering shoulder.

"I think…that it's good…that at least we gave him a proper burial." Ichigo said quietly, his eyes lowered too, fixed on the tombstone. He managed to tear his gaze away from the stone, and met Orihime's saddened, wet eyes.

"Even if there was nothing to bury physically…we're still honoring him through this. And after everything I don't think he'd want us to cry or mourn a lot over his death." the orange haired teen spoke softly, squeezing Orihime's shoulder gently "C'mon, let's go before we get soaked."

Orihime nodded absentmindedly as she turned away from the dripping marker, allowing her friend to guide her out of the cemetery. But before they left the cemetery, Orihime was faintly surprised to hear Ichigo speak again.

"You know, Inoue, I don't think that's the last time we'll see Ulquiorra. Maybe it wasn't the first time either. I mean, after everyone lost their memory about Rukia, I still remembered her. Even though everyone, even her brother forgot, both Renji and I were able to remember her. I think…I think that once a bond is established, it never breaks. That even through time and over the ages, it never fades. Besides…if you think about it death really isn't the end. And even though Ulquiorra may be gone now, I have a feeling we'll see him again one day."

"Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime trailed off, biting her lip as she glanced back one more time at the grave. It was only for a moment, but in that moment her mind allowed her to see the Cuatro Espada standing right by the grave, looking down at the ground, his hands in his pockets and bearing the same melancholic look he always seemed to wear. But then, by chance, the Ulquiorra that Orihime saw looked up, the slightest spark of hesitancy and faint interest dwelling within the emerald green pools that were his eyes. His lip jerked up into a very small, faint smile as he pulled one hand out of his pocket and raised a hand.

Orihime could not tell if it was in greeting or as if he was saying goodbye. She didn't want him to say goodbye, because she felt it would be the last time she ever saw him. For that single moment, space and time were frozen, so closed off that not even Ichigo was included, so small that the rain barely even fell, frozen in its endless downpour. She mouthed the word 'no' to the Ulquiorra who she could see through. Still smiling very faintly, barely even a smile, he faded, leaving Orihime even more saddened.

'_No…don't leave me…'_ she thought, reaching out in her mind to Ulquiorra, but the moment had already passed, and time resumed its endless, unstopping flow.

Orihime felt as if she were about to cry again, but then she suddenly remembered the words Ichigo had just spoken to her. She looked back at the place where the see-through-Ulquiorra was, but he was gone, though despite this, Orihime felt a touch of sudden comfort, a brush of warmth. If what Ichigo had said was right…then maybe she would see Ulquiorra again. Maybe…someday…

A small smile touched her lips, and she embraced the feeling of hope and as she did, the rain began to let up until it stopped altogether. Both she and Ichigo were bathed in an unexpected shower of warmth as the clouds parted, allowing the sun to shine down on them as they walked out of the cemetery.

As they passed the black wrought iron arch that served as an entrance to the cemetery, she and Ichigo felt a sense of peace fall upon them as they walked away from the cemetery. A little farther on, they caught sight of Rukia, Chad, Uryuu, Keigo, Tatsuki, and Mizurio. Ichigo left Orihime's side as he met Rukia and embraced her, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. The others converged on them, laughing, and then on Orihime. She smiled even more, feeling more at ease with her friends, laughing, talking, joking, and just hanging out.

But as she looked up the hill, she could still, just barely, make out a pinprick of gray amongst others that was Ulquiorra's grave. Tempted to feel sad again, she did for half a second, but then cheered up, remembering her friend's words and the way Ulquiorra, in his last moments, had entrusted his heart to them.

'_His heart…well, I'll hold onto it until the day we meet again…Schiffer-kun. But until then…sayonora…though let our hearts be connected, and may we meet again.'_ she thought, her smile widening slightly as she looked up the hill and saw Ulquiorra standing in the sunlight, waving back to her, not in greeting, but not as a farewell either.

'_May we meet again…our hearts connected.'_

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**AN:** Someone requested an Ulquihime fic, and this was pretty much the best I could do…so yeah. Okay, for those of you who _didn't_ get that one part at the cemetery where she sees Ulqui, he's just a symbolic figment of her imagination, not his soul or whatever. I think that part sort of represents her sadness and longing to see him again, so there's some fluff or whatever you wanna call it, you Ulquihime fans. When writing this, I couldn't actually write anything real romantic about them, so this was the closest I could get, and the TV was blasting loud and stuff, so it was kinda distracting. That, and there may be some typos and stuff, and some possible OOCness, but that will go ignored for the time being…so yeah. Oh, and btw, please don't say 'You spelled Ulquiorra's last name wrong, beacuse I prefer spelling his name 'Schiffer' rather than 'Cifer' or whatever they cahnged it to. Uh…can't think of anything else but to say I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review! Please remember to review and no flames or rants either!


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